A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.